The European Union borders Agency Frontex has published the first Annual Report of its Consultative Forum on Fundamental Rights, of which FRA is one of the two co-chairs.

The key task of the Consultative Forum, which FRA and the Jesuit Refugee Service Europe (JRS) have co-chaired since its inauguration in October 2012, is to provide advice to Frontex on fundamental rights issues. Core areas on which the Consultative Forum is consulted include the further development and implementation of Frontex’ Fundamental Rights Strategy and Code of Conduct.

Following its establishment, the Consultative Forum began by assessing which Frontex activities may give rise to major fundamental rights concerns, in cooperation with the Fundamental Rights Officer, Frontex staff and the Frontex Management Board. The Consultative Forum thereafter began to work on selected issues in the fields of strategic planning, joint operations, risk analysis and training.

The Annual Report provides an overview of the activities undertaken by the Consultative Forum in 2013 and contains the main recommendations made to Frontex and its Management Board, as well as the subsequent impact of these on the Agency’s work.